Los Angeles, Ca
Two California nuns and superfans cheer on the L.A. Dodgers in World Series
As the Dodgers take on the Yankees in the World Series this weekend, many fans will be cheering on the Boys in Blue including two devout superfans who also happen to be Catholic nuns.
Sister Johnelle Turner and Sister Joann Ashburn said that the Dodgers are regularly at the top of their prayer lists.
Turner said she would even bring holy water to Dodger games whenever she could attend. She now lives in Northern California but is considering tossing holy water into the air and hoping the wind will carry it all the way down to L.A.
“The Dodgers are on fire,” Turner said. “They want this badly and they’re going to get it.”
“They’re such a good team,” said Ashburn. “People have asked, ‘Who’s your favorite player?’ It’s the team,” she emphasized. “They care about each other, I think, more than the individual.”
The nuns told KTLA’s Chris Wolfe that they both grew up loving everything Dodgers.
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Sister Johnelle Turner shows off her cherished Dodger blue rosary. (KTLA) -
The two nuns were close friends with Dodger legend Tommy Lasorda and were often his guests at baseball games. (KTLA) -
Sister Johnelle Turner keeps her stuffed Dodger prayer dog nearby during games. (KTLA)
“We both grew up with blue milk and everything else that was blue in our houses,” Turner said.
Turner shows off her cherished blue rosary while Ashburn proudly wears a matching one, too. Turner also shows off her stuffed Dodger prayer dog that she likes to keep nearby.
They both recall the thrill they felt when they first met Tommy Lasorda, the legendary Dodgers manager and baseball Hall of Famer, in person.
“This is when we met Tommy for the first time in his office,” Turner said as she showed a picture of the three of them.
They later became close friends with Lasorda and were often his guests at baseball games.
“We sat with him, right next to him, right outside the dugout and we were able to smile at a lot of the players,” Turner recalled fondly. “We had our rosaries in our hands almost the entire games while we were there.”
Turner has since moved to Northern California, while Ashburn is an eighth-grade teacher at Saint Catherine’s Academy in Anaheim. She joked that if any of her students are Dodger fans, they’ll receive an automatic A grade.
The Dodgers will face off against the New York Yankees for Game 1 of the World Series on Friday, Oct. 25 at Dodger Stadium beginning at 5 p.m.
A former Riverside County man was found guilty of sex trafficking a female victim and forcing her to engage in commercial sex acts along L.A.’s notorious Figueroa Corridor.
Elias Abdul Shabazz, 34, formerly of Perris, was found guilty by a jury following a five-day trial, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
Prosecutors said Shabazz had led the victim to believe they were in a romantic relationship before he turned physically and sexually violent. He began demanding that the victim engage in commercial sex acts from May to October of 2021, court documents said.
He carried a handgun with him and, on occasion, was accused of using it to pistol-whip the victim. He also fired the gun at her feet while threatening to kill her, prosecutors said.
At trial, the victim said Shabazz demanded that she meet a daily quota of commercial sex proceeds and that she was terrified of the consequences of not meeting that quota.
She testified that Shabazz compelled her to work in the notorious Figueroa Corridor in South L.A., a dangerous area known for human trafficking and prostitution.
Shabazz had confiscated her identification card, Social Security card and birth certificate. He constantly monitored her cell phone to stop her from communicating with any friends or family.
“He also introduced her to addictive narcotics and controlled every aspect of her life, including when she ate, slept and showered,” prosecutors said.
In May 2025, Shabazz was arrested and has remained in federal custody. His last known address at the time was in Washington, D.C.
On June 26, 2026, Shabazz was found guilty of one count of coercing or enticing interstate transportation for purposes of prostitution.
A sentencing hearing is scheduled for Oct. 6, where he faces 15 years to life in prison.
“Sex trafficking matters rank among the most tragic cases our office prosecutes,” said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli. “This defendant will now face many years in a federal prison cell for his sick, disgusting, and disturbing behavior.”
“Elias Shabazz preyed on a vulnerable victim using physical and sexual violence and cruel psychological coercion to compel commercial sex acts for his own profit,” said Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “There is no place for this type of conduct in civilized society. We deeply respect the victim’s courage to face her trafficker in court. The Criminal Division will continue to bring these cases and try them.”
Anyone with information about human trafficking can report tips to the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 888-373-7888
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